Do you want to be a transformational leader? If you do, get ready to learn, according to Hugh Blane, president of Claris Consulting and author of "7 Principles of Transformational Leadership." Blane has advised Starbucks, Costco, KPMG, and Nordstrom, among many others.

Transformational leadership can be especially challenging for CIOs and other tech leaders, he says, because it calls for an entirely new skill set. “One thing I tell CIOs all the time is, your technological mastery will only get you so far,” Blane says.

“What will get you to the next level is relational and leadership mastery. There’s this notion that if you come out of programming, you’ll continue to use those skills as you rise in your career, but that’s not the case.”

Focus On Your Customers

First impression matters. Company location and contact information must be easily accessible on the homepage. Is the contact number correct? Is the enquiry email working? We do not want to lose any business opportunities due to the incorrect information here.“Fall out of love with technology and fall in love with customer success,” Blane advises.

Articulate Your Purpose

“If I were to ask you your professional purpose, nine times out of 10, people can’t answer that,” he says. “The vast majority of CIOs can’t answer that question. Having a purpose and then helping every employee create a purpose for themselves creates transformative power.”

In fact, he says, “What CIOs should ask is: Can everyone in our organization describe what our purpose is and articulate their own role in accomplishing it?” You should aim to have at least 80 percent of your employees able to answer that question, he adds. “When you get all these technically proficient people and infuse them with hope and purpose, it’s a game changer. When you can get 80 percent of them doing it, it will transform your organization.”

"When you get all these technically proficient people and infuse them with hope and purpose, it’s a game changer."

― Hugh Blane, president of Claris Consulting

Help People Flourish

“Build a strong relationship with customers, and that means trust and respect,” Blane says. “You have two ears and one mouth for a reason, so sit down and ask what’s important to them and listen to them.”

It’s just as important to create those strong relationships with employees. As CIO, you may already know quite a lot about what’s important to the organization, but each employee or manager will have a different set of priorities and goals within that larger purpose, he says.

“Every leader I’ve worked with wants a flourishing business in a state of excellence where everyone is continually raising the bar,” Blane says. “So, yes, you have to understand technology, but more than anything you have to understand that your job is to enable employees to flourish. Create a cadre of people who know their boss has their best interests at heart. They’ll run towards work instead of running away from it. If you’re committed to that, you’re going to do well. If not, you’ll do OK, but you won’t ever really hit it out of the park.”